Typical boarding and access aids are used in passenger transportation vehicles, for example in busses or rail vehicles for public local transportation. They are known in many different forms and facilitate the boarding and exiting in that sliding steps, which are supported on the vehicles so as to be capable of being displaced and oftentimes also so as to be capable of being pivoted and which are resilient, are extended in the area of stops. Sliding steps are thereby used to bridge gaps (for example in the case of train platforms) or also for a height compensation. Boarding aids can be embodied as simply being extendable sliding steps, but, in the extended state, they can also be lowered onto the ground, for example a train platform, so that they bear thereon. Boarding aids in particular also make it easier or make it possible for wheelchair users to board the vehicles. The boarding aid is brought back into its idle position after ending the exiting and boarding phase and possibly after closing the vehicle doors.
Boarding aids, which do not bear on in the extended state and which must accordingly be resilient, are on principle identified as sliding steps. On principle, they consist of a material, which is resistant and rigid, yet as light as possible and, on principle, are provided with a slip resistant coating.
Provision is made in the area of the sliding steps in the case of externally-controlled boarding aids for a motor, which moves the sliding step from its idle position and back into the usage position. Accessible sliding steps are guided laterally via rollers in guide means, via which they can be linearly retracted and extended. Motor-driven sliding steps are described in publications DE 20 2007 000 912 U1 and DE 20 2006 016 432 U1, for example. All of them are relatively high, which is increasingly undesired. Due to continuously increasing demands, vehicle manufacturers pay particular attention to boarding aids, in particular to the installation space in the critical entry area, which is necessary for it.
A significant disadvantage of known boarding aids is also that a lateral slipping or a misstep by the users is possible when exiting or boarding. In particular for wheelchair users, the use of the boarding aid is thus dangerous or even dangerous, respectively.
For this reason, sliding steps are known, which encompass lateral barriers having a height of several centimeters. Such barriers are arranged on side edges of the boarding aid in the form of a guard rail. A significant disadvantage is that, due to the lateral barriers, the boarding aids are higher and require accommodating boxes, which are dimensioned larger accordingly, below the door of the vehicle.